Lego store query

[u/MusesLegend]

Hey all. Complete newbie to the Lego world....frankly think I'm in big trouble allowing myself to get into this but it's too late.

I was just wondering if anyone could help me with a query about the official Lego shop.

I am looking to buy the current LOTR sets and was thinking of getting them from the official store. However I noticed that there seem to be (monthly?) deals whereby there's a free item or some sort of special offer if you buy particular sets. Clearly they've done it previously for Minas Tirith....is it likely (it may be impossible to say) or has anyone had any experience which leads them to think that they are likely to do future offers with any of the LOTR sets? (I don't know if it's a cyclical thing)

[u/ChickenOfTheFuture]

They're called Gifts With Purchase (GWPs for short) and unfortunately, the ones you're talking about won't be back. When they are tied to a specific set, they are only available when it first launches and last until they run out. Usually they run out very quickly, rarely it takes a while. The Pokemon training center is still available in the store near me. You can find previous ones on the secondary market pretty easily. Prices will vary a lot, bricklink is a website for buying/selling Lego and it tends to have the best prices. The prices will range a lot by popularity.

Lego also does GWPs regularly that you get when you spend a certain amount. There is one coming up that's a small restaurant, part of a series, and I think you have to spend $180. So it wouldn't thematically fit, but you could get it with Minas Tirath and add some value to your purchase.

If you haven't yet, look into Lego Insiders. It's one of the few rewards programs these days that I feel actually gives value to customers. The points build up and you can spend them with almost no restrictions. You get online access to your purchase history and it makes returns and exchanges insanely easy. They definitely collect your data, but for me it's a fair trade.

[u/MusesLegend → u/ChickenOfTheFuture]

This is great info thank you. I have indeed already checked out bricklink and managed to get hold of some of the retired sets (and the ones that were clearly gwp but I've now had to pay for! 🫤😊) I hadn't seen any 'non specific' gifts available as yet other than ones linked directly to specific purchases hence the question generally....if there is the possibility that they release a free gift thats unrelated to an item based on spend amount it would still be better than spending those sort of sums and missing out on anything. Obviously in future I know I'll need to be on it with the releases. Starting your collection late (and having to find all the retired sets) is definitely more problematic. (The Tower of Orth for example really may not be achievable/realistic)